Chevron Earnings Jump on Permian Output, Andarko Breakup Fee
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Chevron Corp. posted strong production growth from the Permian Basin combined with a stabilization in its refining operations to beat earnings estimates in the second quarter.
Profit was $2.27 per share, surpassing the $1.76 average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. That includes $740 million from the termination fee the company received in connection with its aborted takeover of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Chevron is the top performer among the five so-called supermajor oil producers this year after walking away from a bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which Occidental Petroleum Corp. agreed to buy for $38 billion.
Refusing to escalate the bidding war for Anadarko, Chevron took a breakup fee and hiked its share buyback 25%, pleasing an investor base increasingly demanding cash returns from Big Oil.
Chevron will get most of its production growth from the Permian Basin and is planning a giant expansion at Tengiz in Kazakhstan, but analysts have questioned whether the company has a large enough portfolio to sustain growth beyond 2023.
